Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Revamp Of Organ Transplant System Awaits President Biden's Signature
Roll Call: Senate Sends Organ Transplant Bill To Biden's Desk
Days after it was passed by the House, the Senate cleared legislation Thursday evening that aims to overhaul the organ transplant system in the United States. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The bill would give the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to expand competition for contracts related to the operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which matches donor organs with patients waiting for transplants. (Hellmann, 7/28)
The Washington Post: Congress Authorizes Overhaul Of Troubled Organ Transplant System
For 37 years, one nonprofit organization, the United Network for Organ Sharing, has held the federal contract to run the system, relying on a 1984 law that blocked almost all competition. With a unanimous vote Thursday night, the Senate rewrote the law to let the federal Health Resources and Services Administration break that stranglehold and solicit bids from other for-profit and nonprofit groups. (Bernstein, 7/28)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
St. Louis Public Radio: U.S. Senate OKs Hawley Proposal To Expand Coverage For Atomic Bomb-Related Illness To St. Louis
The U.S. Senate voted narrowly Thursday in favor of expanding a program that compensates Americans who become ill because of exposure to radiation from the country’s development and testing of nuclear weapons to cover Missourians. The proposal, offered by Sen. Josh Hawley, was attached as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes funding levels and sets policy for the Department of Defense. The bill itself still faces a Senate vote and agreement by the U.S. House of Representatives. (Kite, 7/28)
Stat: House GOP Plan To Stem Drug Shortages Differs From Democrats’
House Republicans have drafted drug-shortage legislation that differs significantly from the approach Democrats propose to stem shortages of chemotherapies and other critical medicines that hospitals typically use. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are focused on what they say are the underlying economic reasons for shortages. Hospitals band together to negotiate drug prices, and makers of generic injectables say those group purchasing organizations can drive prices down so low that they stop making certain drugs or can’t afford to maintain manufacturing facilities, which then leads to manufacturing interruptions. (Wilkerson, 7/28)
San Francisco Chronicle: Congress Is Old. But They’re Not Leaving
Many have touted their health and vitality. Yet the challenge isn’t how lawmakers are feeling now, but how they might be doing at the end of their term. Feinstein, who announced earlier this year she is not running for re-election, was not experiencing major health issues when she was re-elected to a six-year term in 2018, but is now at 90. This is less of an issue for House members, who serve two years. (Garofoli, 7/30)
